Speculation is growing that Stoke City are lining up former Everton and Manchester United boss David Moyes to replace Gary Rowett at the bet365 Stadium.

A poor festive period for the Potters plus growing opposition from disillusioned fans has left Rowett on the brink, less than eight months after he left Derby County to take the job at Stoke.

A victory at Shrewsbury Town tomorrow in the FA Cup is the absolute minimum needed by the 44-year-old former Burton and Birmingham boss to keep his job, but it appears Stoke’s hierarchy could already be moving to replace him.

Paul Joyce, the northern football correspondent of the Times, claims Moyes is first choice of the Coates family, the owners of Stoke City, and club chief executive Tony Scholes.

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He reports: “Stoke had wanted to appoint the 55-year-old Scot midway through last season before moving for Paul Lambert, but Moyes had only just joined West Ham as manager.

“His short-term contract at West Ham finished at the end of last season and he has been out of work ever since, but it remains to be seen whether he would be interested in the event of Rowett’s departure.”

The Mirror claimed earlier this week that both Moyes and former Bolton, Newcastle, Everton and England boss Sam Allardyce were in the frame to take over at the bet365 Stadium, while many fans are keen on the ex-Watford and Fulham manager Slavisa Jokanovic.

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However, Moyes fits the bill as an establish British manager more likely to work within Stoke’s established player recruitment framework alongside Scholes and technical director Mark Cartwright.

Stoke have won just one of their last five games, and a New Year’s Day defeat to Bristol City leaves them 14th in the Championship table, eight points off the top six play-off places.

Stoke chairman Peter Coates, a known admirer of Moyes, said in September that finishing outside the play-offs would have to be considered a failure by a club who were installed as pre-season title favorites following their relegation from the Premier League in May.

Moyes, a former Celtic centre-half, made his name as a manager at Preston North End while Tony Scholes was chief executive at Deepdale.

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Stoke City 0, Bristol City 2 - The Fallout

He then had success in the Premier League with Everton, but struggled when handed the impossible job… replacing Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United.

On being sacked by United after just 10 months, he spent time in Spain with Real Sociedad with limited success before returning to England to manage Sunderland, who were relegated from the Premier League in May 2017.

His latest job was a short-term contract at West Ham where he saved them from relegation before leaving in the summer when the club opted not to extend his deal at the London Stadium.